WWE NXT Review - April 24, 2019

By Graham "GSM" Matthews

Jaxson Ryker vs. Humberto Carrillo Ended in a No Contest

It's amazing how frequently The Forgotten Sons appear on NXT TV compared to everyone else. I feel like they're on the show almost every other week, and I don't regard that as a positive. Ryker might be the most interesting of the three members, but that isn't saying much. Thankfully, Carrillo is a highly skilled competitor and helped make this a decent match. Oney Lorcan and Danny Burch coming to Carrillo's aid afterward should set up a six-man tag team bout for a future episode.

Candice LeRae and Kacy Catanzaro def. Aliyah and Vanessa Borne

LeRae and Catanzaro was the team I didn't know I wanted until now. They have really strong chemistry together and had a tremendously fun showing here. Hell, even Borne and Aliyah looked good. This was a great little sprint. Mauro Ranallo actually noted on commentary afterward that The IIconics should keep an eye out for LeRae and Catanzaro. That's a WWE Women's Tag Team Championship match I'd love to see.

NXT Tag Team Champions War Raiders def. Street Profits (Non-title)

This was taped two weeks ago, so War Raiders were still going by that name at the time and therefore that is what I will call them here. I feel like If officials had an idea that they might be called up to the main roster right after this, then War Raiders would have dropped the tag titles on this show. Alas, that did not happen, but this was an absolute blast while it lasted with Street Profits putting forth an incredible effort before losing. I would've had Street Profits be the team to beat them for the belts, but that doesn't appear to be in the cards following this loss.

NXT Champion Johnny Gargano def. Roderick Strong (Non-title)

Gargano and Strong have been in NXT together for almost three years, but I don't think they ever went one-on-one prior to this show. As expected, this was a strong (no pun intended) main event filled with excellent action and drama. You had to know Undisputed Era would interfere at some point, but I'm not a fan of the tension being teased within the group. Strong might on the verge of breaking off on his own, which would honestly be the worst thing for his career. They are all better off as a unit. With this marking Undisputed Era's second loss since TakeOver: New York, I'm curious as to whether the Gargano vs. Adam Cole feud will continue heading into the next TakeOver special.

Overall Show

NXT is not skipping a beat coming off that tremendous TakeOver event in New York. This was another above-average episode with Gargano and Strong delivering a terrific main event, War Raiders and Street Profits killing it in the time they were given, and LeRae and Catanzaro forming an alliance. I didn't care much for Ryker vs. Carrillo, but at least it furthered the Forgotten Sons vs. Lorcan and Burch feud. Plus, Kushida is facing Kassius Ohno in his official debut next week, so I'm very much looking forward to that.